shepherd lead us

I was driving home this afternoon from running errands, feeling frustrated, hoping that we didn't bounce any checks as there was a slight delay in getting paid for the last 2 weeks and I heard this song come on the radio.  I always hear songs I like, but always miss who they are by or what the title is.  So after the song was over I made sure to turn the volume WAY up (I needed to hear over the loud children I have) so I could catch who the song was by.  "Shepherd" by Ian Eskelin.  Psalm 23 is one of my favorite passages of scripture, so this song is now an instant favorite of mine.  

Shepherd by Ian Eskelin

You bring me to quiet pastures.  And to where still waters flow.  You are mighty yet so tender.  I can rest because I know. 

Chorus: I’m safe in Your care, each day my prayer is Shepherd guard me, Shepherd guide me, Shepherd ever close beside me.  I will follow where You lead me, Jesus. 

Shepherd lead. 

When I’m weary You restore me.  All I’m needing You provide.  I will never want or worry.  Lord my soul is satisfied.

Chorus 2x

Shepherd lead.

Safe in Your care, each day my prayer…

Chorus- Shepherd guard me….

Shepherd lead.  Shepherd lead.

Jason and I have been praying about moving to Austin, Texas this August, but we've been struggling about God's direction.  Jason and I had decided that if God led us to Texas, we'd follow.  And if He opened the doors to stay here, we'd stay.  But we weren't getting any real definite answers.  Some things here tanked, some stuff there sounded good.  Some areas here opened up, some places there didn't.  What to do and where to go?  We've had more prayer requests lately than praises!  But the biggest request we had was a job.  We sent out about 30 resumes and heard nothing- for about 6 weeks.  We then decided to call the best looking prospects.  But lo and behold before we call anywhere we get an email with a job offer the same week we get an offer to rent a house that is sort of in the area we want to be.  2 or 3 days after we get these offers they both bomb in the same day.  The job was too far from where the house was, but we said we'd move to where the job was.  The job then tells us that they want someone with 5+ years experience, not 4+.  Bummer.  We then find out that the house- even though it sounds nice- is over 30 years old and "a bit out in the boonies."  Now, I do not want to sound stuck up, but the whole point in moving to the city, is to be in the city!  Or at least a suburb of the city.  So we decided that the house was too far out and we really should look at a more central location, especially since we had been applying for service repairman jobs in HVAC.  Jason still  has to call a few places, we are not going to assume that God is telling us NO on TX from just one job falling through, but it's looking more and more like we will be here for the next year.  This makes me both happy and sad.  Of course the happy part is that we don't have to leave our friends and we get to still enjoy our church family!!!  But as you know I do not like winter, though I can deal with it if I must.  It won't kill me.  So that's the sad part- winter and the fact that I was REALLY looking forward to living in the city.  Really looking forward to it....

All through these last few months, Jason and I have fervently prayed that God would show us and lead us to where we needed to be.  Where He could use us to the fullest of His glory.  And if we stay here or go there, we still aren't sure what God will have us do.  And we still aren't sure how we will pay the bills, but we know if we trust the Father, He will provide all we need.  So we let the Shepherd lead us.    

4th of July weekend and rachel's wedding

The 4th of July weekend was crazy busy!  On Friday we all went to dinner at my parent's home and then all 8 of us (the 5 Earley's, mom and dad and my brother Jake) went down to the carnival.  After we got home at 10, I left and took some paper lanterns to the reception hall for Jason's sister.  And I didn't get to bed till midnight.  Yawn.  

Liam on his first carnival ride!

Katie & Savannah 

This was right before his feet stuck and he did a flip!

The next day was the 4th of July and Jason's little sister, Rachel, got married that evening to Dusty Higgins.  I was privileged to do Rachel's hair and make-up and everyone thought she looked just lovely.  (Not because of my skills with the "paint" mind you, but because Rach is just naturally very pretty.)  Katie and Evie were the flower girls and did a very good job at spreading their petals down the aisle.  The ceremony was THE shortest one I have ever witnessed, lasting less than 10 minutes. But after it was done there was a wonderful dinner and dancing.  And I mean dancing!  Till about 12:30 am Jason and I danced!  After the ceremony was over the girls went to my parents house and they took them to the fireworks.  Then dad took them home, relieved the babysitter who had been watching Liam since about 6:30 (a 7 pm wedding is too late for a 2 year old who goes to bed at 7 pm) put the girls down for the night and then watched golf till Jase and I came home at 1 am.  We had a TON of fun, but didn't get to be till 2 am!  Yawn, yawn.

A few of the photos I took

 

Dusty, Rachel and my MIL, Ruth

Beautiful flower girls!

We were tired, but still managed to be up and at church by 8:30 the next morning and then have youth group at our house that Sunday night.  Yawn, yawn, yawn!  And Monday morning K & E had to be at swim lessons by 9! 

YAWN!  I took a nap Monday afternoon....

jason's 30th birthday

Jason's 30th birthday was back in May and I am just getting around to blogging about it.  How sad is that?  Since it's taken me so long to get around to posting anything, I'll just keep the details short and sweet and post a few pictures.  

We had a great time celebrating with a black and white theme with red accents.  We had about 40 friends and family here and we spent the evening BBQing, jumping on the trampoline and then sitting around our little fire pit.  Jason got a bunch of gift cards to the coffee shop as presents and was thrilled by that.  Coffee is the thing that keeps him going most days I think...  Jase wanted a white cake, so I did a 4 layer white cake with whip cream icing and it was layered with more whip cream and strawberries!  Yummy!

It was a wonderful night!

lake powell vacation

A few weeks back we were invited by our friends the Gormans (gormanadventurers.blogspot.com) to join them on their houseboat at Lake Powell for a few days.  This of course sounded like a ton of fun and we said yes!  I love going places, but I really wish that traveling to and from the destination was avoidable.  We left at 4:30 am on Friday morning and drove to Cortez, CO where we then missed our turn to Monticello, Utah and went the opposite way towards Arizona.  We realized our mistake about 20 miles down the road and turned around, thus we were 40 miles in wrong direction travel.  We finally got headed the right way and started winding our way through Monticello and Blanding, UT and then to scenic route 95.  Once we hit 95 I told Jason that we had to turn off 95 onto another road to head towards Halls Crossing Marina, there would be a sign where the turn was.  Well, as soon as the words were out of my mouth I dozed off.  Getting up at 3:30 am makes a body tired.  I dozed on and off for about 40 minutes and during one of my snooze spells Jason went right by the sign and turn that was clearly marked Halls Crossing Marina and Ferry.  About 20 miles past this sign Jason woke me up to ask where we were supposed to turn.  Yeah.  After I yelled at him for going right past the turn, we got the car back in the right direction and finally after another 20 miles in backwards travel we made it to the final road to lead us to the marina where we were to meet the Gormans and the Ellis's, the other family on the trip with us.  So a 5 hour trip turn into an almost 6 & 1/2 hour trip, what with 2 potty stops and gas stop, never do we need gas and a potty at the same time....

The return trip had no wrong turns as I drove most of the way and already knew where we were going.  But of course we can never have a smooth trip of any kind.  So the trip home was filled with kids puking and diarrhea.  Katie either got a stomach bug or was seasick, but she threw up twice on the boat (and ME- both times) and once in the car.  Evie was the one with the diarrhea, but we stuck her in a Pull-Up and thus avoided most of the problems that come with 4 year olds and upset tummys.  I cannot wait till my kids travel a bit more smoothly!

So what did we do at Lake Powell you ask?  We hung out on the boat.  We went on the jet ski. We kayaked.  We ate and ate and ate of really good food.  We slept, or tried to.  We played in the sand under the hot sun and we played in the freezing water.  We went on a hike.  I learned how to play Canasta, now I am addicted.  We enjoyed out time away from civilization and computers, phones and TV's.  Here are some pictures of our trip!  (I will try later for video, it isn't working right now.)  

Katie and Evie all ready for the sun!

The beautiful scenery!

Time in the sand!

Evie & Caden

Mmmm, yummy sand!

2 of the 3 mom's getting ready to float on the lake for Mother's Day!

(Sherry Gorman & Barbara Ellis)

On our hike on Mother's Day.

Noah & Katie

Our home away from home!

Liam taking a nap on the way out to the camping spot.  We hadn't set up the pack 'n play yet, so he snoozed amongst all our stuff!

Sleeping quarters.  We had all 14 people- 6 adults and 8 kids sleeping up here!

Isn't he cute when he first gets up?!  Look at that hair!

Last day there, all ready to go home.  Evie did NOT want to leave.

random musings

Does anyone read this blog?  I have no idea.  No one ever comments on it, or tells me in person that they read it.  Do I sit here any type just for practice?  Give me a shout out so I know I'm not just sitting here working on my spelling and grammar.  And buckle up, this post is all over the place.....   

I take all these quizzes on Facebook and it makes me think- about stuff.  I took one today to see how much of a "TRUE Pacific Northwesterner" I was and I am "Pure Pacific Northwest Product. You understand intimately the life and loves of the Pacific Northwest.  If you haven't lived here your whole life, you have the intimate soul of a lifetime resident."  Amazing.  I've never even been to the Pacific Northwest.  I probably got that result because I actually know what a Geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck") is, but I only know that because I watch Dirty Jobs.  However, for some strange reason this odd test made me feel really good.  Jason and I have been talking for a few years about moving to Oregon or Washington (to some town close to the ocean!) and everyone always tells us that we'd hate it because it rains a lot.  Well duh.  Anyway.  I love the rain, moving to Seattle or someplace like that is the perfect excuse for me to buy some wellies, a cute raincoat and a fabulous umbrella.  I like drizzle.  I love eating fish.  Coffee is the only thing I don't do, but I could try.  I have stated for the last 10 years or so that I hate moving.  We did it a lot as a kid and I never really minded till I was in my teens.  Then I felt I needed roots.  But how do I feel about it now?  As I am typing it's starting to snow, again.  I seriously wonder when it will stop this year.  My loving husband said that we might get between 8-16" in this storm!  Not exactly what I like to hear at 7 in the morning.  Does my serious physical dislike of where I am now, spawn the desire to move to a new place?  Would I be just as restless as I am now, someplace else?  I wonder if it's my spiritual being that's unsettled?  Do I require a deeper walk with the Lord?  Well, who doesn't?  Maybe this is what's making me feel empty?  Wow.  For me this is deep.  I have felt very satisfied in my walk.  But maybe I'm not.....  My screen saver is pictures of exotic beaches.  I love the beach!  I wish I was sitting and listening to the waves crash upon the shore right now.  "I don't have to worry any more.  If I really need You I'll go to the shore.  And the thought of You there is my protection.  -  I see it right in front of me.  A vision in my head.  And I know this is as real as a daydream gets.  -  You make no sound, but I can hear You in the wind.  I can see this never ends.  Like the sea.  Like You for me."  Oh look!  The sun just came out.

valentine's day party

Well this blog has taken me forever to post, but it was fun and a cool idea so here it is. Just a bit after the fact...

So I was snuggling with the Evie just the other day and she said that she wanted a party for Valentine's Day. She requested a red table cloth, balloons, pink lemonade, flowers, cake, ice cream, presents, V-day cards and she wanted to play games. I figured, why not? I am my own party supply store, I even have my own small helium tank, so fulfilling these requests was not a problem. Jason blew up pink and purple balloons for the girls and a blue one for Liam. I dug out a red paper table cloth that I had in the cabinet, set the table with real dishes (not the plastic ones from Ikea that the kids usually get,) put on some taper candles, folded some cloth napkins in a "fancy" way, and thanks to the roses I got from my hubby the table looked pretty nice. We also let the girls dress up for their dinner party which was made up of just the 5 of us. I made roasted rosemary-garlic-lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and green beans for dinner, obviously accompanied by pink lemonade. And then we had a chocolate cake with chocolate icing AND chocolate ice cream for desert! After dinner we played the Disney memory game and the even though it took an hour, we all had fun matching up the cards. The girls had opened cards from Jason and I and grandma and grandpa before dinner, all that was missing from Evie's list were presents. But that's ok. I think that even without the presents they had a good time!

winter season

Well, winter is in full force here in Colorado. I am a summer person and the cold and snow is hard for me. It doesn't make it any easier that we have had sickness after sickness here in the house, culminating with all but Jason getting "something" this week and Katie topping it off with Pink Eye. Yuck.

Back in January, we looked at a house for sale and were just about to make an offer when we found out there were multiple offers already in play. We were bummed. It was a huge thing to even be approved for a loan, we had fully expected them to say that we did not qualify at this time and that was ok with us. THAT was what we were prepared for. But then to actually get it! Oh joy! We've been renting for 6 years and we've been proud property owners for 5, but with the foreclosure market in Pagosa, we can buy for less than we can build, we prayed about it so hard and really felt God saying ok....

My parents are awesome in believing that when one thing falls through, it's usually because God has something better for you out there. I struggle with that still. It makes it harder that we can see the house we wanted from out current kitchen window.

We have gone back to seeing if we CAN afford to build this year. Thanks to Dad being an architect we have 2 sets of lovely plans, a 1 story design and a 2 story design. Which one is cheaper to build is the question! But both are great and it's exciting to know that even if we have to wait, there is something wonderful in our "after renting" future.

There is a song that's been special to me the last couple of months. It's called "In Like A Lion (Always Winter)" by Relient K.

Here are the lyrics-

It's always nice to look out the window
And see those very first few flakes of snow
And later on we can go outside
And create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky

When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side

(Chorus)
It's always winter but never Christmas
It seems this curse just can't be lifted
Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

It'd be so nice to look out the window
And see the leaves on the trees begin to show
The birds would congregate and sing
A song of birth a song of newer things

The wind would calm and the sun would shine
I'd go outside and I'd squint my eyes
But for now I will simply just withdraw
Sit here and wish for this world to thaw

(Chorus)

And everything it changed overnight
This dying world you brought it back to life
And deep inside I felt things
Shifting everything was melting away (oh away)
And You gave us the most beautiful of days

Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas
Sometimes it feels like You're not with us
But deep inside our hearts we know
That You are here and we will not lose hope

I don't "sense" God as much in the winter. As funny as that might sound. You don't hear the birds as much, snow is so quiet when it falls, and even though it can be pretty sometimes, looking at a white landscape for 5 months is not appealing to me. I love the sound of rain. I love thunderstorms. I love the wind! It gets really windy here in the spring and everyone I know hates it, except me. I miss the ocean. Sometimes I wish that I could live in a shack on the beach. Just so I could listen to the waves crashing on the shore. When my grandpa passed away in 2007, my parents flew me out to his service in Santa Barbara, CA. We drove by the beach and I wish that I had said something and we had stopped. I haven't been to the ocean in 10 years.

The last verse of the song reminds me that even in the "winter season" of my life, God's is there. And I don't lose hope.

memories

Ahhh, memories. This is one for the fiance someday...

The other day I was on the phone with my mom in Phoenix and Evie got up from her nap. Evie usually gets up first when I make both her and Katie sleep for a bit, so this was not unusual. I was chatting with my mom for about 15 minutes or so when I started to hear this wailing coming from somewhere. Liam and Evie were both sitting on the floor having a snack and were fine, so I started to look for this noise. I got down the hall and yelled for Katie and asked her where she was, she replied back that she was in her bed and was stuck. (I had thought that maybe she was in the bathroom.) Anyway, I walked in her room and she was red from yelling for me and crying. I told my mom to hold on a minute, as I was still on the phone, and climbed up the bunk bed ladder to see what was going on. There was Katie tied by the drawstrings of her pants to the bed frame. I started laughing (it's a response that I just can't help sometimes) as I simply pulled her pants off and asked her why she didn't just take them off herself. She looked at me kind of dumbfounded for a moment and then said she'd never thought of THAT. As soon as Katie was freed, she started yelling at Evie and asking her why she didn't "tell mommy" that she was stuck? I asked Evie if she was supposed to have come and told me that Katie was tied to the bed and she looked at me and said, "Yep."

rock christmas party

Jason and I have had the privilege for the last few years to work with another couple and then on our own with the Jr. High and High School youth at our church.  At our very first meeting we had like 20 kids, after that we averaged 2 or 3 for the next couple of years, except when it was movie night!  Now, we have about 6 that come regularly and when they bring friends or older siblings are home for holidays, we have more.  We celebrated our 3 Annual ROCK Christmas Party a week before Christmas and as always had a ton of fun!  Most of the students got here on time, but then all the guys left to go get one of the other guys out of the ditch where he'd gone off the road.  After they came back all safe and sound, we dug into the food and continued on with the games.  We did the typical Bible "sword drill" this year and then followed it up with a devotional before we got into the rest of the games.  The devotional was on Eph. 3:20, which in the New King James version doesn't sound all that exciting and is kind of confusing- "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."  So after the teen who found it the fastest read it in that version, I read it to them from the Message- "God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!  He does it not by pushing us around, but by working within us, His spirit deeply and gently within us."  Great verse for the end of the year in my opinion. 

Instead of loading a ton of pictures and videos on here, I've posted a Smilebox of the evenings festivities!

 

Make a Smilebox slideshow